ONI Special Activities Division
** *** |branch= |type=Special Operations |role=Clandestine and Covert Operations |size=Classified |command_structure= |garrison=Multiple |nickname=Spartans |patron= |motto=Ex umbris, defendimus |colors= |march= |mascot= |anniversaries= |equipment=* *Any equipment dictated by mission requirements and objectives |battles= |decorations= |battle_honors= |commanders=Office of Naval Intelligence Commander-in-Chief |notable_commanders=* * }} Shortly after the end of the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC began the fourth generation of the legendary Spartan Program. Under the guidance of then-Commander Musa Ghanem, managed to convince UNSC HIGHCOM into granting the SPARTAN-IV Program its independence, divorcing it from the command hierarchy of the Navy and, therefore, the Office of Naval Intelligence. Taken aback by the loss of so many Spartans, ONI began gathering all their remaining Spartans, most of the surviving IIs and IIIs, and consolidating them into a single unit, forming the Special Activities Division. In order to bolster their numbers, ONI began recruiting internally, picking personnel from several field units, including ONI Security and Reconnaissance, and augmenting them without the knowledge or consent of Spartan Operations. Due to the secretive nature of the unit and its activities, knowledge of the existence of SAD is highly contained, very few outside ONI are aware of its existence and even fewer know the true scale of the group. Direct command of the group falls to the Commander-in-Chief of the Office of Naval Intelligence, overall field command is handled by veteran SPARTAN-II Colin-142. Organization Unlike their cousins in Spartan Operations, SAD does not form large detachments, opting instead to contain themselves to small, mobile fireteams stationed aboard Prowlers. The one exception to this rule is the hundred-strong deployment onboard the UNSC Vegas, operating as a large strike force for ONI's operations across Human and Covenant space. Sub-Units SAD has also operated several sub-units during its history, including Operational Detachment Sigma and the enigmatic group known only as The Hangmen. Operational Detachment-Sigma The Hangmen The mysterious unit known only by the codename Hangmen, was part of ONI's plans to destabilize the Sangheili and other ex-Covenant races and remove them as a threat to Mankind. The Hangmen were routinely deployed to Covenant space to act as Kill Teams, engaging targets of military and civilian importance and completely leveling them. Known throughout Covenant space, the UEG has completely denied knowledge of their existence. The lack of physical evidence, or survivors, has made countering these claims near impossible, though rumors abound of alien settlements razed to the ground, their inhabitants slaughters, striking fear into the hearts of many a Sangheili Equipment Due to equipment shortages following the Human-Covenant War, for the first few years of SAD's existence, it relied heavily on equipment being phased out by the rest of the Armed Forces, including the MA5C ICWS and BR55 Battle Rifle. In addition to this, the unit opted to use the MJOLNIR Mark VI Powered Assault Armor instead of the newer GEN2 system, a decision influenced by field commander SPARTAN-142, who favored the older armor system over the newer, lighter version developed by the Materials Division. In 2556, they finally retired the old suits and adopted the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/Sentry, a suit specifically designed for use by the unit, though it was quickly supplanted by other variants and was mostly phased out by mid-2558. Despite this equipment being phased out, SAD kept large stores of it on several worlds in the Frontier, as part of several worst-case scenarios. Category:Demons of Hope Category:Units Category:Office of Naval Intelligence